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The UK courts have backed Petrofac boss Ayman Asfari in his battle against Italian insider trading allegations by ruling that he was not served notice of the charges leveled against him by the Italian authorities.

The High Court ruling backs Mr Asfari’s claim that the shock sanctions leveled against him last summer by the Italian authorities did not follow due process, meaning he was unable to defend himself against the charges before they were imposed.

The charges allege that he was passed inside information by an Italian company which he used by trading the company’s securities.

Mr Asfari has denied any wrongdoing and is appealling the charges.

In a statement made through Petrofac, his troubled oil services group, Mr Asfari said: “I have always emphatically maintained that I have done nothing wrong. Whilst I am pleased with today's decision by the UK courts, I have also commenced an appeal process in the Italian courts on both the merits and the procedure of the case.”

He added that he will vigorously pursue the “fair and swift resolution” of the legal wrangling.

The Italian authorities will have seven days in which to challenge the judgment.

The legal row is an unwelcome distraction for the embattled FTSE 250 group, which lost almost half its market value due to a seperate fraud and corruption scandal.

The Serious Fraud Office swooped on the group last year over allegations that it secured lucrative service contracts worth $2bn in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009 via a Monaco-based middleman, Unaoil, which allegedly paid bribes to officials.

Petrofac has denied any wrongdoing in connection to the Unaoil scandal, which has also engulfed many other firms within the global oil services industry.

Mr Asfari and Petrofac’s chief operating officer Marwan Chedid were both arrested and questioned under caution by the SFO. Neither of the executives were charged but Petrofac suspended Mr Chedid while Mr Asfari was kept in place to focus on the day-to-day running of the group.

Petrofac shares are currently trading at 8 month highs of £5.70 as oil prices steadily climb and the group manages to snap up service contracts despite its legal woes.

On Tuesday the group said it clinched a three-year deal with Chevron to service five of its North Sea oil fields.

Petrofac’s share price remains well below the £9.40 a share mark it traded last year.